President Eisenhower loved vegetable soup and he had his own personal delicious recipe that he shared with the public. It’s interesting to read how recipes have changed in seventy or more years, isn’t it? It’s also quite fascinating to have a personal recipe from a President or First Lady. By the way…Mamie Eisenhower’s Million Dollar Fudge??!! It’s so decadent and amazing!

Ok…back to President Eisenhower’s Vegetable Soup. I kind of got sidetracked with the fudge 😋

Tonight in the kitchen I decided to use my own personal favorite…it has cabbage…onion…carrots…potatoes…all the good stuff! 😋

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chopped medium yellow onions

1 ½ cups chopped carrots (3 to 4 carrots)

1 ½ cups chopped celery (2 to 3 stalks)

2 tablespoons tomato paste (if you don’t have tomato paste, ketchup works too!)

4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves) (optional)

3/4 teaspoon ground fennel seed (optional)

1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional for those who like heat and spicy!)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste if needed

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes with the liquid

6 cups stock or broth (I used chicken broth)

2 cups chopped medium potatoes (2 medium)

3 to 4 heaping cups of chopped or shredded cabbage

2 bay leaves (optional – don’t forget to remove when the soup is done!)

1 cup frozen peas

Optional: 1 pound of beef stew meat (my husband loves beef in his vegetable soup so we always have to add! He’s a “where’s the meat” type of guy 🤣

It tastes just as delicious as a vegetable soup without beef too.

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a stockpot pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, cabbage and tomato paste. Cook and stir often until the vegetables have softened and the onions are translucent. This will take about 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the salt and pepper, fennel seeds and the red pepper flakes. Cook, while stirring, for one minute.

Pour in the canned tomatoes and their juices as well as the stock/broth.

Add the potatoes and if using bay leaves – add those. Raise the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil. Partially cover the pot with a lid, and then reduce the heat to maintain a low simmer for about 20 minutes or longer until the potatoes and veggies are tender.

If you are adding meat, this is the time to cook it so it’s ready when the soup is finished.

Add the frozen peas and cook for five more minutes.

If using beef add to the soup and stir.

Remove from the heat and take out the bay leaves.

I served the soup with warm baked dinner rolls. Yummy!